Int. Day of Women & Girls in Science: Cara Watson, Lead Engineering Geologist

Today’s 6th International Day of Women and Girls in Science is focussed on the theme ‘Beyond Borders’ – equality in science for society, with special emphasis on the value of social aspects and cultural dimensions in Science, Technology and Innovation to enhance sustainable development.

To mark the occasion, we asked three of LOC’s female scientists about their experiences working in technology and science and the advice they would give to girls considering it as a career path.

Cara Watson, Lead Engineering Geologist, Longitude Engineering Newcastle, shares her thoughts: 

What area of science do you specialise in, and what made you go into it?

I am an engineering geologist with a first class degree in Applied Geology and MSc in Engineering Geology. I decided during my GCSE’s that I wanted to build a career in geology. I loved physical geography and physics at school. Learning how the Earth was formed, how it is still forming, and how this knowledge can be applied for practical use. Although I originally trained to be a reservoir geologist (finding oil and gas), I realised during my degree I needed to ensure I was training for a career that would last my working life. I had always had interest in sustainability, renewable energies and large offshore structures. Therefore moving into the offshore renewables industry as an offshore engineering geologist allowed me to still enjoy the geological aspect of my work, develop large scale project management skills and work towards a sustainable future.

What for you, is the most exciting aspect of a career in applied science?

I am lucky that every project is different, each task is a new challenge and a different geological area to work in. I have worked on large offshore wind farm projects, and I enjoy starting a project from the first desk study, taking it through development, and to then seeing it in the water as a large offshore wind farm at the end. Geological engineering is a big part of offshore wind farm development so I get to be involved through the majority of the process and see the end turbine out at sea. I can see the first offshore wind farm that I was part of from my house, get to see a project start from the being, and for the majority see the outcome at the end.

Although I no longer go offshore I enjoyed my trips offshore when I was younger, it was exciting visiting new locations, joining a large ship and heading off out to sea. I once got the chance to lie on a helideck of a ship in the dead of night and watch a meteor storm in the pitch black. A great memory to have.

What advice do you have for girls and young women today considering a future in science?

For me if you’re really interested in a certain subject, you would naturally do well at it.  You will commit and work hard, building a fulfilling career rather than just having a job. The fact that you may be a woman makes no difference! Yes, a lot of the engineering and scientific industries you will find are still heavily male dominated (in numbers), but this has been changing throughout my 17 year career and I am meeting more and more women counterparts at industry conferences and on projects teams.

I also believe you can have the career you want and have worked hard for, but still have a family and achieve a good work life balance. Why should our careers need to stop or take a back seat because I decided to have a family. It doesn’t!  At Longitude I job share with another lady called Cath Bradley (photo of both Cath and I to the right).  Together we head up the Longitude Newcastle office and are the Lead Geological/Geotechnical Engineers in the geosciences team. We haven’t needed to settle for lesser roles so we could work part time and raise a family. Using our job-share management tried and tested processes,  we work so well that a lot of people think we are the same person. I don’t mind this, we keep our clients happy, prove every week that our roles can be managed on a part-time basis seamlessly, we can still progress our careers and enjoy plenty of quality family time.

Science is central to the success of today’s energy transition journey….what would you like to see take place to accelerate the fight for climate change?

I think we can accelerate the fight for climate change by really committing to meet the agreed targets that are set. This involves further commitment from the governments who set these targets. They need to provide more support to the industries /companies trying to achieve them. The UK missed its 2020 renewables target. therefore I would like to see greater support schemes introduced by UK government to ensure the next targets they have set can be achievable.